Pierce Brosnan 'cancer' row advert: Pan Bahar firm hits back

The company embroiled in a row with Pierce Brosnan over his promotion of a breath freshener in India insists it has not breached the contract it signed with the star.

The former James Bond actor was slammed on social media for advertising Pan Bahar, which it is claimed contains cancer-causing ingredients.

Brosnan, who lost his first wife and daughter to the disease, said he was "deeply shocked and saddened" following the criticism.

"I would never have entered into an agreement to promote a product in India that is dangerous to one's health", he said.

And he claimed the manufacturer Pan Bahar had made "unauthorised and deceptive use" of his image to endorse its entire range of products "in violation of my contract".

He has demanded the company removes his image from all its products.

But the company has hit back, saying it had not breached its contract.

Spokesman Dinesh Jain said: "The advertisement was made as per the contract between Pierce Brosnan and the company, following all the formalities."

He also told the Times of India: "Everything was done as per the contract. The product is 0% tobacco.

"It is a mouth freshener and there is no trace of any tobacco in the product. Hence the advertisement was made as per the law."

Pan Bahar, also known as pan masala, is made from a mixture of nuts, seeds, herbs and spices and has been associated with bad health.

There are claims it contains supari, which may be linked to cancer.

Brosnan's contract details he was to advertise a "breath freshener/tooth whitener," and it was presented as "all-natural containing neither tobacco, supari, nor any other harmful ingredient", said People magazine.

The Delhi government is thought to have asked Bollywood stars not to endorse pan masala.

A directive reportedly said: "Even if these pan masalas do not contain tobacco or nicotine, they surely contain areca nuts (known as supari in Hindi) and now there are a lot of scientific evidences which prove that supari causes cancer."